Master Roshi
Master Roshi is a character originating from the original Dragon Ball ''anime and is known as the teacher of many characters such as Grandpa Gohan, Ox King, Yamcha, Krillin, and Goku. Background Before he was the famed Turtle Hermit of the Turtle School, Muten Roshi (which isn’t even his real name by the way) was a student of Master Mutaito, the younger brother of Fortuneteller Baba. An aspiring martial artist, he trained under Mutaito alongside his then-friend and rival Shen, the future Crane Hermit of the Crane School. At some point during his training, Roshi became the first person to climb to Korin’s Tower in order to receive training from Korin, an 800-year old talking cat and martial arts master. His training was simple: catch Korin to gain access to the Sacred Water, a mystical liquid rumored to make whoever drank it incredibly stronger and can be used as a tool to undo brainwashing and mind control (as shown in the Garlic Jr. Saga and Dragon Ball GT). It took Roshi 3 years to catch Korin and finally drink the Sacred Water, but it would later be revealed that there’s nothing special about the Sacred Water. It’s simply tap water and Korin’s training is what made the drinker stronger. But as a reward for being the first person to reach his tower, Korin gave Roshi the Flying Nimbus. Unfortunately in Roshi’s life, Earth was attacked by the Great Demon King Piccolo (the evil counterpart of Earth’s guardian Kami) and his army of demons. Roshi, Shen, and Mutaito teamed up to fight back against the evil Namekian. Unfortunately though, the three of them weren’t enough to take him down until Mutaito pulled out his ultimate technique: the Mafuba (also known as the Evil Containment Wave). With it, Mutaito was able to seal away King Piccolo into an electric rice cooker but at the cost of his own life. Roshi and Shen threw the rice cooker containing King Piccolo into the bottom of an ocean, and the former started the Turtle School to teach his master’s lessons to new students. During his 300 year life, Roshi would have Grandpa Gohan and the Ox King as his students. However, his greatest student would come in the form of a little monkey boy by the name of Son Goku. After his pet talking turtle was saved by Goku, Roshi passed down the Flying Nimbus to the young Saiyan after he couldn’t use it anymore due to his perverted nature and would later offer to train the young boy after witnessing Goku instantly replicating one of his signature moves firsthand - the legendary Kamehameha. Goku would later accept this offer after his quest of finding the seven Dragon Balls. Roshi would also gain another student alongside Goku in the form of Krillin. Roshi’s training consisted of delivering milk, tilling land with bare hands, construction work, and studying, but his greatest lesson was towards Goku of how there will always be someone stronger than him and that he shouldn’t think of himself as the best. The Turtle Hermit would later take part of Goku’s adventure by assisting against the Red Ribbon Army, use the help of his sister to find a Dragon Ball, swaying Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu from the corrupt teachings of his rival Shen, and sacrificing his life during the fight against the returned King Piccolo. While the increase in power levels from DBZ and onward pushed Roshi into the background, he has shown that he’s still a person of great importance and skill. Goku would always come back to him for more lessons, and Roshi even helped the Z-Fighter in fighting members of Frieza’s army as well as participating in the Tournament of Power as a member of Team Universe 7. Despite his old age and pervertedness, it would be very unwise to underestimate the man who taught Son Goku. Powers & Abilities * '''Hand-to-Hand Combat: '''As a martial artist, Roshi has been trained in hand to hand combat and used it in the fights that he’s been in. Two notable styles of hand to hand combat that he possesses knowledge in are the Drunken Fist and Pressure Point. ** '''Drunken Fist:' A type of fighting style in which the user imitates the movement of a drunk person, causing them to become unpredictable towards their opponent. It incorporates hitting, grappling, locking, dodging, feinting, ground, and aerial methods of fighting. Roshi’s good friend, Jackie Chun, uses this style of combat during his fight against Goku in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament. It is also revealed that he taught this fighting style to Grandpa Gohan. ** Pressure Point: A type of fighting style in which the user strikes areas of the human body where nerves lie close to the service and are supported by bone or muscle mass. A powerful strike to a pressure point causes extreme pain, a stunning effect or sensation, motor dysfunction, balance disruption, and reflex response while compressing pressure points would even lead to the victim experiencing involuntary muscular spasms, drooling, disorientation, and loss of consciousness. Roshi uses this style of fighting against Man-Wolf in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, paralyzing him. * Ki: '''Ki, also known as “latent energy” or “Fighting Power” is the life force energy used by many Dragon Ball characters. Ki is a tangible energy inside every living being, by drawing it out, a skilled individual is able to control it and use it for many different techniques or also use it to increase their strength and durability. ** '''Ki Sense: Like many characters in Dragon Ball, Roshi is able to sense Ki, Ki Sensing is the ability to sense the location, life force, and power level of anyone. Though some Ki users have also learned to hide their power level to not get sensed by others. ** Ki Blast: Basic energy blasts Roshi can fire, in some occasions he can even use Ki to shoot powerful gusts of wind. ** Kamehameha Wave (Turtle Destruction Wave): One of the most famous and well known techniques in all of anime, the Kamehameha Wave was created and developed by Master Roshi himself and eventually became the signature move of his pupil Goku. The Kamehameha Wave is a powerful blue beam of entire ergy with destructive capabilities, such as destroying a mountain or the goddamn Moon! There are many variations of the Kamehameha such as the One-Handed Kamehameha and the extremely powerful MAX Power Kamehameha and the even stronger Life Force Max Power Kamehameha, however, Roshi can only use the last two in his Max Power Form. ** Thunder Shock Surprise (Bankoku Bikkuri Shō): An electric-based technique also created by Master Roshi, this move allows his Ki to become electricity (because why the hell not) and strike with what Yamcha called “20,000 volts of electricity” while lifting his opponents in the air. This move was used to temporarily stun Kid Goku and even hold him off slightly while in Ape-form. However since the technique requires a steady stream of electricity, Roshi can’t move himself while he is performing the move. ** Hypnosis: '''Somehow… Someway, Roshi’s ability to use Ki has given him some nifty psychic abilities, more specifically he has gained the ability to hypnotize his opponents by simple eye contact and minor hand gestures, with this he has made Kid Goku fall asleep mid-fight, and made a man-wolf think that Krillin's head was the moon * '''Evil Containment Wave: '''An ancient and legendary technique created by Roshi’s mentor, Master Mutaito, to defeat the Demon King Piccolo. This technique consists of creating a powerful stream of green energy to overwhelm the opponent and seal them in a container (this can be anything from ceramic pots to a goddam rice-cooker) for an undefined amount of time until the seal is broken. However, such technique comes at a price… It requires an incredible amount of energy and precision to perform correctly, which means that this move can kill the one who performs it if their body cannot withstand it or they fail to seal their opponents (in fact that's how Mutaito and later Roshi would kick the bucket respectively). But after some good old Dragon Balls and hitting the gym, Master Roshi (and others like Tien, Trunks and Goku) have found the way to use the Mafuba several times in succession without...well...dying. It is also important to note that even if the Mafuba was created with the idea of only being used to seal evil spirits/entities it has been since expanded to defeat almost any kind of opponent regardless of their intentions or race… As shown by Master Roshi himself when he almost manages to seal Frost, the same move when redirected was able to seal Vegeta who is considered “Pure of heart” (it is important to note that this one was directed at Magetta, a robot) Goku used it to seal Turtle (Roshi’s BFF turtle bud) and Trunks to seal a god. * '''Afterimage Technique: 'The Afterimage Technique is an ability in which many Dragon Ball characters possess. While the technique can be performed theoretically in real life to some degree, characters in Dragon Ball move their bodies at an absurd amount of speed in which real life humans can’t go at. When using the Afterimage Technique, users leave behind an image of themselves at their previous spot. While the image can’t do anything physical as it fades away right after, it is an ideal ability to use to dodge attacks from opponents and gain an opportunity to counterattack as a result. It’s also a great technique used to confused enemies, distracting them since the appearance of the image is accurate of the user. * '''Telepathy: '''Being the first Dragon Ball character to introduce the use of it, Master Roshi possesses the psychic ability known as telepathy. In short, it allows users to communicate with others through the use of their minds. Not only can it be used for communication, but telepathy can be used to read or eavesdrop people’s minds without them knowing. The only drawback is that it won’t be able to work on beings with low intelligence. Equipment * '''Sealing Bottles: '''Used to seal the opponents affected by the Evil Containment Wave. Although Roshi’s mentor, Mutaito, originally used an electric rice-cooker to defeat King Piccolo (long story just trust me on that one) Roshi and other characters like Kami have since used these small bottles… They became more prominent as Roshi had several of them on hand for the Tournament of Power. * '''Turtle Shell: '''Carrying on his back, Master Roshi wears his iconic turtle shell. Coming in a variety of colors, the turtle shell is often used as a training weight for Roshi and his students. Some shells weigh 50 pounds while others weigh 100 pounds. * '''Staff: '''Along with his turtle shell, Roshi carries his iconic staff around with him. Despite it being made of wood, the staff is used by Roshi to assist him in fights such as the fight against Frieza’s army being an example. However, it won’t be able to withstand powerful Ki attacks. Alternate Forms * '''Max Power: '''Like many Dragon Ball characters, Roshi is able to increase his energy and reach a more powerful state. When in Max Power, Roshi not only gains a massive increase in size and muscle mass but he also, of course, becomes much more powerful and can perform his ki attacks to their maximum potentials like with the Max Power Kamehameha, or the even stronger Life Force Max Power Kamehameha. And while the form has affected Roshi’s movement in the past, he seems to have gained better control over it in the Resurrection ‘F’ movie and Super. The Max Power form does however, have one major flaw in that it’s strongest techniques use up way too much energy. While Roshi can now use the regular Max Power Kamehameha without too much issue, The Life Force Max Power Kamehameha is a different story, while the move is EXTREMELY powerful it comes at a major cost, As the name suggests Roshi puts his own life force into the attack and hits with everything he has….unfortunately as he’s using his own life force in the attack, using the move can kill him. In fact the move would’ve killed him when he used it in the Tournament of Power, had Goku not have been there to heal him. * '''Ability Similar to Ultra Instinct: '''In Chapter 39 of the Dragon Ball Super manga, Goku was having trouble fighting Jiren and wondered why his attacks wasn’t working on his opponent. Roshi noticed this and asked his student what strength meant to him, though he was pretty disappointed when Goku said power was his answer. Afterwards, Roshi tells Goku to remember all the teachings his previous master taught him, with Whis being the last one and his teaching on Ultra Instinct: the user allowing their body to move freely without control from their mind. Roshi then decided to give Goku one more lesson: How to move well. First, let’s provide a rundown on what Ultra Instinct is. It’s similar to real life martial art concept known as Mushin, or Empty Mind. Mushin is a mental state that can be reached by Zen and Daoist meditators as well as highly trained martial artists during combat. Essentially, the user experiences a moment in which their body reacts without the need of any specific intentions or plans in mind, refined only to their instincts and intuition up to the point where they can respond to any threat without the need for thought. Hence Mushin’s full term being Mushin No Shin, or Mind Without Mind. In Dragon Ball, Ultra Instinct is no different than Mushin No Shin but is highly referred as a very rare and highly advanced mental state that even the gods have difficulty obtaining. Users with this mental state can automatically react to any threat without the need to acknowledge it and defend themselves. Their bodies can move and adapt on their own while in battle, allowing users to attack and defend simultaneously without thinking. There’s an offensive and defensive variant of Ultra Instinct. To truly master Ultra Instinct, both variants must be obtained and learned. While the defensive variant (dodging and moving) is easy to master, the offensive variant (attack without thinking) is much more difficult due to fighters being inclined to think about their attacks before making them, resulting in the fighters being slowed down and their attacks weakened when performing the move. Despite being highly regarded as a divine mental state, Ultra Instinct by achieved by mortals with Son Goku being the first mortal to enter this state as well as obtain the mastered version. However, mortals do receive a high drawback when it comes to obtaining Ultra Instinct. They can only sustain the sheer power of the ability for a short amount of time before their body breaks down from being pushed far beyond its limits, including a risk of death. Now, let’s get back to Roshi. The Turtle Hermit was able to perform a similar version when he was fighting Jiren in the Dragon Ball Super manga, dodging Jiren’s punches without thinking. However, Whis states that what Roshi did strongly resembles Ultra Instinct. After Jiren was finally able to land a couple of hits of Roshi, Whis did state that Roshi’s variant was a far outcry from Ultra Instinct but admits that Roshi’s variant still uses a similar principle due to the hermit’s age, experience, and wisdom. Despite it not actually being the true Ultra Instinct that Whis has defined, Roshi’s teachings of this variant is what allowed Goku to tap into Ultra Instinct in the Dragon Ball Super manga. Feats Strength *Destroyed the moon *Destroyed the entirety of Fire Mountain (by accident) *When in the 21th World Martial Arts Tournament he managed to defeat all of his students, Including Yamcha (eliminated him by pushing air at him), Krillin (knocked him out with two karate chops to the neck) and even Goku (albeit the latter with some effort). *In the same tournament he was on par with Tien Shinhan (he even deflects one of his kamehameha wave) *Can purposefully lodge his foot into stone *Lifted Man Wolf and flicked him across a stadium. *When fighting with 100% of his power, easily overpowered and could’ve killed Tien Shinhan *When fighting with 100% of his power, Roshi was also able to fight on par with Base form Goku and took a Kamehameha wave from him. *Pushed large boulders even while nowhere near his full strength *Fought and defeated several of Frieza’s soldiers *Fought against Botamo, Lavender, Comfrey, Shosa, and Dercori with the help of Gohan, Tien, Krillin and Piccolo *Was able to hold his own against Final Form Frost *Fought and defeated many warriors in the Tournament of Power including: **Zium **Caway **Ganos **Casserale (Manga) Speed *Kept up with Base Goku and Tien *Ran 100 meters in 5 seconds *Snatched bullets out of the air *Fast enough to run up walls. *Able to propel himself several feet with a Kame wave in a few seconds. *Had a fight with Krillin in a fraction of a second *Attacked so fast Krillin can’t see the attack. *Able to dodge attacks from Yamcha’s Wolf Fang Fist. *Dodged attacks from Jiren in the manga Durability *Tanked Krillin kicking out of the stadium and into the middle of the city without a scratch *When using 100% of his power, survived attacks from Tien and base Goku *Can survive machine gun fire. *Took an attack from Tien that was mean to put him into a coma, he woke up seconds later. *Can survive having one of Chi-Chi’s sharp, axe boomerang crest stuck on his head. *Can keep up with and take blows from Kid Goku. Skill *Created the Kamehameha. *Managed to fight back his urges against Caway *Participated in the Tournament of Power (lasted longer then both Tien and Krillin) *Managed to gain the respect of Beerus *Scales to Jackie Chun *Trained Grandpa Gohan, Ox-King, Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha *Known as the “God of Martial Arts” Weaknesses *'Energy Taxing Attacks: While Roshi may have found a way to use the Mafuba more than once without it killing him, it and the more powerful versions of the Kamehameha still take a lot of energy from him and can kill him if he’s not careful. *'Flightless:' He’s also one of the few characters that hasn’t learned how to fly, despite him having a tremendous amount of control over Ki, flight was developed by his rival school and because of this and some general stubbornness he never really learned the technique. Category:Anime/Manga Characters Category:Heroes